Vegan Spanakopita
Go Greek with this Vegan Spanakopita recipe. This dairy free spinach pie is a great way to get in your greens!
Ingredients
- 1 Cup blanched almonds soaked overnight
- 1 Whole clove garlic peeled
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup water + additional water, as needed
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 box 13 x 18” phyllo dough sheets defrosted overnight in the refrigerator
- 2 tbsp flaxseed meal
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tbsp olive oil + ½ cup for brushing or spraying the phyllo dough see Instructions
- 1/2 yellow onion finely diced
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 16 oz fresh spinach
- 1 bunch fresh parsley washed and chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh dill minced
- fresh ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- [Do this the night before making this recipe] Add the almonds to a large glass bowl and add water. You’ll want at least 2-3 inches of water above the top of the almonds. Cover the bowl with a clean dish towel and leave the almonds on the counter to soak overnight.
- [Do this the night before making this recipe] Remove the phyllo dough from the freezer and defrost it in the refrigerator overnight.
- [Two hours before making this recipe] Remove the phyllo dough from the refrigerator and bring it to room temperature. Do not open the box.
- Preheat the oven to 375º.
- Drain and rinse the blanched almonds. Then add the almonds, ½ cup of water, 1 garlic clove, nutritional yeast, fresh lemon juice and 1 tsp salt to a high-speed blender. Blend until no whole pieces of almonds remain. The almond feta cheese can be fully pureed, but it will be slightly grainy. If necessary, add more water to the blender to achieve this consistency. Set aside.
- Make the flaxseed eggs by combining the flaxseed meal with ¼ cup of water. Stir to combine and set aside.
- Add 1 tbsp olive oil to a large, deep-sided skillet. Heat on medium-low until the olive oil is shimmering. Add the onions and 1 tsp salt and sauté until the onions are golden brown. About 12-15 minutes.
- Add the minced garlic and continue sautéing for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the fresh spinach and continue sautéing on medium-low heat until the spinach is fully wilted. Remove the spinach mixture from the skillet and add the spinach to a strainer. Drain all of the excess liquid by pressing the spinach in the strainer.
- Combine the spinach mixture, flaxseed eggs, parsley, dill and the almond feta in a large bowl. Add a few twists of fresh ground pepper and mix thoroughly.
- Lightly oil a large 9x13 baking dish. You can do this by brushing olive oil on the dish, but I prefer to use a non-aerosol oil dispenser.
- Gently unroll the sheets of phyllo dough and lay two sheets in the baking dish. The sheets will come up the sides of the dish and hang slightly over the edge of the dish. Cover the unused phyllo dough with a damp towel.
- Brush or spray the sheets lightly with olive oil. Then add two more sheets. Brush or spray those sheets with olive oil, continuing until the bottom of the baking dish has 12 sheets of phyllo dough.
- Add the spinach and feta cheese mixture.
- Continue to layer 6 more sheets of phyllo dough on top of the spinach and feta mixture using the method described above. Gently gather the edges of the sheets along the sides of the baking pan to form a crust. Make sure that the crust is thoroughly brushed or sprayed with olive oil.
- Bake the spinach pie in the oven on the middle rack for 20-25 minutes. Check the spinach pie frequently. The upper crust should be golden brown.
- Remove the spinach pie from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Serve with a simple side salad featuring a tart dressing.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!